This review contains spoilers
My biggest fear in playing this game was that it would lose what I felt was the soul of the first: its unhingedness. FP1 had a total devotion to making stuff more or less difficult if that would serve the tone of the scene. Even in cutscenes, the still amateurish voice actors screamed to the top of their lungs. It was their teenage preferences given wings in adulthood, and its enthusiasm was contagious. One could definitely feel how much fun and passion they poured into that dream child.
The slow build up on tension this game's story takes helped not those fears, with the game putting a lot of emphasis on the newfound world peace the characters fulfilled in the first game and how much more powerful and mature they have all become.
However, as soon as the part of the archipielago comes in, all my fears were dispelled. Absolutely bonkers stage concepts like the Ancestral Forge or bosses like the Astral Golmech serve exclusively the purpose of elevating the intensity of its narrative.
Characters like Aaaa or Askal are super annoying in cutscenes or have very little screentime, but they win you over thanks to their repeated and diverse boss fights, and when entire stages move around actions they take in cutscenes. Kudos on the excellently designed fight against Merga, with so many stages that it seemed advised by Treasure Inc. themselves.
As the credits rolled, I was smiling widely. Not only because this studio has not given up their inner child, but because one can feel their growth as a developer. Everything is more sophisticated, the story takes its time, and characters are equally fun to play now.
Many of the amateurish voice actors are now prominent roles in the industry of voice acting, and some were about to give up completely on it until Galaxy Trail gave them the chance to revisit their past passion. <<Success is at its best when you share it>> said the main director in an interview, and the way this series has changed lives, certainly lives up to that.
This game, this team, this passion project breathes so much positivity and personality that it makes me remember of why I fell in love with the medium and its unique possibilities to transmit emotions and stories, that would otherwise look half baked or basic in any other media.
Please, never lose that inner child of yours.
The slow build up on tension this game's story takes helped not those fears, with the game putting a lot of emphasis on the newfound world peace the characters fulfilled in the first game and how much more powerful and mature they have all become.
However, as soon as the part of the archipielago comes in, all my fears were dispelled. Absolutely bonkers stage concepts like the Ancestral Forge or bosses like the Astral Golmech serve exclusively the purpose of elevating the intensity of its narrative.
Characters like Aaaa or Askal are super annoying in cutscenes or have very little screentime, but they win you over thanks to their repeated and diverse boss fights, and when entire stages move around actions they take in cutscenes. Kudos on the excellently designed fight against Merga, with so many stages that it seemed advised by Treasure Inc. themselves.
As the credits rolled, I was smiling widely. Not only because this studio has not given up their inner child, but because one can feel their growth as a developer. Everything is more sophisticated, the story takes its time, and characters are equally fun to play now.
Many of the amateurish voice actors are now prominent roles in the industry of voice acting, and some were about to give up completely on it until Galaxy Trail gave them the chance to revisit their past passion. <<Success is at its best when you share it>> said the main director in an interview, and the way this series has changed lives, certainly lives up to that.
This game, this team, this passion project breathes so much positivity and personality that it makes me remember of why I fell in love with the medium and its unique possibilities to transmit emotions and stories, that would otherwise look half baked or basic in any other media.
Please, never lose that inner child of yours.